Trump Calls Up Palestinian President, Lets Him Know Exactly What He Has Planned for Jerusalem: Report

President Donald Trump reportedly told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday that the U.S. is planning to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“President Mahmoud Abbas received a telephone call from U.S. President Donald Trump in which he notified the President (Abbas) of his intention to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said in a statement, according to Reuters.

The PA expressed its vehement opposition to the plan.

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“President Abbas warned of the dangerous consequences such a decision would have to the peace process and to the peace, security and stability of the region and of the world,” Rdainah said.

In light of a possible announcement concerning the move, the State Department has warned U.S. embassies around the world to be on alert. Depending on what Trump says publicly, violence could erupt in the Middle East, especially if Trump announces that Jerusalem will be recognized as the capital of Israel.

“The impending Jerusalem announcement has me very worried about the possibility of violent responses that could affect embassies,” one State Department official told Politico. “I hope I’m wrong.”

Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem is expected to come Wednesday.

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As The Western Journal reported, Trump is expected to formally recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, following through on a promise he made several times on the campaign trail.

“The president has always said it is a matter of when, not if,” a White House spokesman told Axios. “The president is still considering options and we have nothing to announce.”

The move would mark a historic turning point for American-Israeli relations, as the two countries are major allies on the world stage and Israeli leaders have long sought out official recognition of Jerusalem by the United States.

However, it would also likely strain peace talks between Israel and Palestine, as the fight for control of the holy city has long been at the heart of the ongoing conflict.

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The news comes one week after Vice President Mike Pence’s speech where he reiterated the administration’s intentions to move the embassy.

“While for the past 20 years, Congress and successive administrations have expressed a willingness to move our embassy, as we speak, President Donald Trump is actively considering when and how to move the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” Pence declared.

The vice president made the comments as he delivered a keynote address at the Queens Museum commemorating the 70th anniversary of the United Nations’ vote calling for Israel to exist as an independent state, according to CBS News.

Congress passed a law in 1995 calling for the U.S. embassy to move to Jerusalem, but every president in office, both Republican and Democrat, has used a clause in the law to postpone the transfer.

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A measure within the law allows the sitting president to sign a six-month delay. Kicking the can down the road, every president since Bill Clinton has continually signed this waiver.

Trump — who campaigned heavily on finally moving the embassy — disappointed many Israel hawks when he chose to re-sign the waiver in June.

Nevertheless, as Trump signed the waiver, a spokesman for the White House said moving the embassy was a matter of “when, not if.”

Things do, in fact, appear to be changing. Pence is expected to visit Israel in December, around the same time the six-month waiver is due to expire.

The White House may choose to both recognize the city as the capital and move the embassy as a gesture honoring Israel’s 70th independence celebration.

The date marks the passing of Resolution 181 by the United Nations in 1947 — the vote that made way for Israel’s creation by calling for the partition of Mandatory Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.